


Airborn

by FeatherFont



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Set after series finale, Slow Burn, i'm trash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2018-11-28 07:11:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11412867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherFont/pseuds/FeatherFont
Summary: Akko works on her flying. Diana tends to be a tad overprotective.But in the end, the team (now consisting of 9 witches) is just having a good time.





	1. Chapter 1

With her broom in hand, Akko took a few steps forward, standing on the very edge of the Luna Nova Tower. The afternoon sun was warm on her cheeks, a gentle wind ruffling her hair. She let her eyes wander along the horizon for a bit, and took in the view.

She thought how this might be one of the last days she’d have such perfect weather for a test flight. The leaves have already started to change color, signaling the end of summer. The forests took pleasant shades of green, gold, and red, and combined with the slowly setting sun made everything look softer somehow. Even the ruins, clearly visible from where she was standing, were looking kind of inviting.

She took a deep breath and dared to look down. Despite the warmth, a shiver went down her spine.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” a voice behind her said. Akko turned around and met Diana’s worried eyes.

“I’m sure,” she said with a nod. “With all of you here, I know I can do it!”

She beamed at the eight witches gathered on the tower with her.

They brought picnic blankets, as well as tea and pastries, even though Akko wasn’t sure who was responsible for the latter. Maybe Jasminka? She was currently offering a sandwich to Constanze, who was tinkering with one of her bots.

“You sure sound confident for someone who didn’t want Diana to come at first,” Amanda said with a toothy grin, leaning back on her broom. “In case you’d, you know. Fail spectacularly.”

“Amanda!” Akko shot her a betrayed look. She felt heat rising to her cheeks and glanced back at Diana. “That’s just because, uhhh-“

“She doesn’t want to look like an idiot in front of you,” Sucy cut in with a chuckle. Amanda flew over and gave her a high-five. Akko tried desperately to hide the blush spreading across her face.

“Sucy!” This time it was Lotte who spoke. “We agreed that it would be best that we were all here to support Akko.”

She walked over to Akko and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I know you’ll do just fine. We’re all here for you.”

Akko felt her eyes welling up. Lotte had a way of cheering her up with the plain kindness in her voice. She appreciated it, especially after the endless teasing of her teammates.

Akko froze for a second and noted how she’d already started referring to all eight of them as her teammates. She smiled at the thought.

“Diana is the best flyer in Luna Nova. Of course, she’d have to be here, in case Akko fell off her broom again,” Barbara proclaimed. Hannah nodded at the statement.

Amanda crossed her arms. ”Please, if something went wrong I’d get to Akko just as fast as Diana would,” she said.

Akko could have sworn there was a ’Tch’ sound in the air, even though no one actually said it.

“Sure. And who saved Akko last time she tried to take off from a tree?” Barbara said.

“Or that one time a gryphon tried to feed her to its young?” Hannah added.

Akko winced every time they mentioned another one of her failures.

“Or when she tried out those rocket boosters Constanze made?”

“Or when she launched herself from-“

“Can we please stop talking about all the times I _didn’t_ fly?” Akko finally snapped. “It’s gotten much better lately!”

“I have to agree, it has been a while since I had to catch Akko from a freefall.”

“Thank you!” Akko said, vaguely gesturing to Diana. “Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a flight!”

“Okay, okay, fine. Whenever you’re ready,” Amanda said, raising her hands in surrender.

There was a moment of silence as the girls gave Akko some space to prepare herself. Despite the teasing, they were all rooting for her, which wasn't all that surprising after watching Akko’s passionate attempts at flying time and time again. She put so much hard work into it, it simply had to pay off.

Only Diana seemed tense somehow, clutching her broom with both hands.   
Jasna offered her a chip, but she politely declined. She approached Akko one last time.

“I could still fly with you if you would like?” Diana asked, gently grasping Akko’s hand.

“But we’ve been flying together so much already!” Akko turned to face her. “I know I can do this on my own, I can feel it!”

“And you are absolutely sure about this?”

“Yeah, I’m sure!” she said, squeezing Diana’s hand for emphasis, trying to sound as convincing as she could. ”You’ve seen me launch myself into the air countless times! How is this different?”

“Akko, I just want to make sure you are safe.”

“I am with you around!”

They held gazes for a moment.

The rest of the team went unusually silent, focused on the pair in front of them.

“Diana ‘Soft’ Cavendish,” Sucy muttered under her breath.

“Shhhh!” Lotte and Barbara went in unison. Amanda rolled her eyes.

“I can do this, okay?” Akko insisted. "Just, trust me on this."

Diana paused for a moment, and let out a small sigh.

“Okay,” she finally said, ignoring the commotion in the background.

Diana’s lips curled up into a warm smile and Akko felt her heart skip a beat. “I trust you.”

  
_________

“She actually flew,” Amanda said, visibly impressed.

“Of course she did,” Lotte said affectionately.

Diana felt a weight fall off her shoulders, but still didn’t let go of her broom.

It was an endearing sight. Akko was making slow circles above the tower, various ‘Yay’ sounds and occasional giggles echoing through the air; she seemed to be having the time of her life.

After a few minutes her laps started getting much bigger, and once she got further away from the tower she waved her team enthusiastically.

All eight of them waved back, and no one tried to hide the smiles on their faces. This turned out to be a great idea after all.

A few minutes passed, and Amanda’s eyes drifted towards Diana; curiosity took the best of her. She got off her broom and walked over to the blonde.

“Tell me,” she began, “why were you so tense before? Or, judging by the way your hand is glued to your broom, why are you still so stressed out? We’ve all seen Akko do much crazier stuff than this,” she said, pointing at the girl flying in the distance, “and apparently she’s doing great today.”

“She seemed… unusually anxious,” Diana said, still keeping her eyes on Akko.

“Anxious?”

“Before the flight. Like she was afraid of something,” Diana said in a contemplative tone.

“Well, she’s definitely not afraid of heights,” Amanda said. “Remember how she cannonballed herself at the Shooting Star?”

“Of course I remember,” Diana said. “And I don’t think it’s about the height, either.”

“Then what’s it about?”

“I’m not sure. But I think it has been building up for a few days now.”

“A few days?” Amanda’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “How do you know?”

“Every time one of you mentioned anything about Akko’s flying she looked away or started fidgeting with something,” Diana stated. “And I’m pretty sure I saw her hand tremble a few times when she was reaching for her broom for practice these past few days.”

“Wait, you didn’t know about today’s big test flight until today, right?”

“Correct,” Diana said, a bit caught off guard.

Amanda raised one eyebrow at Diana. _Just how closely are you watching her, Cavendish?_ she thought.

Though it would explain how the blonde always seemed to magically appear whenever Akko was in trouble.

“What is it?” Diana asked, and when Amanda closed in on her, studying her face, she took a small step back.

Amanda considered questioning Diana about it some more, but ultimately let it slide for now.

“It’s nothing,” she said with a small smirk. _What a curious development,_ she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just loved the idea of the Red/Blue/Green team merging into one big team. Also, Amanda and Diana being bros is something I never knew I needed.
> 
>  
> 
> \---
> 
> I know I'm probably not supposed to say this but... I have never written anything in my life. And English isn't my first language. Please be gentle (but tell me if it's horrible and why!)  
> Cheers~


	2. Chapter 2

Akko let her legs hang loosely from her broom and closed her eyes for a moment, letting the cool wind carry her.

Flying has turned out to be every bit as wonderful as she dreamed it to be, and she couldn’t seem to ever get enough.

To be so high above the ground, soaring through the sky, and to have total control over her broom, even barely noticing it was there at times.

The occasional feeling of weightlessness when a sudden gust of wind swayed her from side to side.

The way the air felt different every time she went for a flight, depending on the time of day and weather.

She loved all of those things; she loved the sensation of flight and the freedom that came with it.

But, perhaps even more than that, she’s grown to love the team they formed, the ‘Akko might fly today club’, as it was initially named by Sucy and Amanda.

At first, it was only Akko’s and Amanda’s teams. They were supposed to watch Akko finally take to the sky, but their get-togethers usually ended with them simply hanging out and Akko shouting “Tia Freyre!” at her unresponsive broom. They liked to tease her about it, but she honestly didn’t mind all that much.

That was, of course, until one faithful day her broom responded, and she actually got off the ground.

It was on the same day Diana and her team came to watch for the first time, too. Only after much nagging from Sucy, and some encouragement from Lotte, did Akko finally get the courage to invite her.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she really didn’t want to have Diana watch her as she ‘made an idiot of herself,’ as Sucy liked to say. So she waited until she was genuinely feeling that she might fly for once.

Luckily enough, her intuition didn’t fail her.

Akko wasn’t really sure why, but with Diana’s eyes on her, she suddenly became much more aware of herself. And she definitely didn’t want to look stupid in front of her.

She thought it was probably because Diana was such a great flyer. It would make perfect sense that she’d get nervous in front of her.   
_ It made sense, right? _

Akko looked back at the tower and waved to her team, the gesture extremely exaggerated. She got so far she couldn’t even hear them, just saw them waving back with just as much enthusiasm.

_I’m really going to miss this,_  she thought.

Once they were a team of nine, Akko found that their meetings got a lot more fun.

Someone always brought blankets or even prepared picnic tables and food. They joked about how their day went, played some games Constanze brought, or even just listened to Lotte and Barbara get into very emotional discussions about their favorite book series.

Akko would never have expected those two would get along so well - sometimes they would passionately ramble on about fictional characters for hours. She was glad Lotte found someone just as invested in the ‘Night Fall’ universe as herself- as much as Akko tried, she could never really follow all the plot lines Lotte explained to her.

Akko was equally surprised to discover Hannah apparently took an interest in cooking and was very committed to trying everything Jasna was offering her. To be fair, Akko has never seen Hannah actually cook anything, and suspected she might just really like the food. But considering how happy Jasminka was whenever she got to share her snacks, she guessed it was still a great arrangement.

All eight of them liked to give Akko advice on her flying, and Akko was really grateful for their input. There was just one issue they couldn’t ever seem to resolve.

Amanda and Diana tended to get into very heated debates over their flight instructions, the both of them having drastically different ideas of what proper flying should look like.

Diana especially seemed to lose her patience with the rebel when she shouted “Do a backflip!” at Akko while she was in the air.

“This is completely unnecessary advice,” she’d often say.

Amanda would then proceed to tease Diana, or just stick her tongue out at the blonde.

Lotte tried to calm the situation most of the time, Hannah and Barbara backed up every word Diana said, Jasminka watched them with a smile, saying they were ‘good friends’, and Constanze thought their arguing was pointless and learned to ignore it.

Sucy seemed to be extremely entertained by them and was usually seen snickering somewhere in the background.

Akko thought about how much she enjoyed the liveliness of it all.

She made one last lap around the tower.

There really wasn’t much she could do now- she felt their frequent get-togethers would come to an inevitable end. After all, teaching her how to ride her broom was the reason they formed the team in the first place. Now that she more or less knew how to fly, why should they continue to meet up like this?

She considered those past few weeks to be the most fun she’s had since attending Luna Nova. She truly didn’t want it to end.

She looked at the witches hanging out on the tower in the distance and noticed Diana and Amanda talking.

_I wonder if they’re bickering about my flying again?_  she thought with a smile.

At some point, once Akko was fairly proficient at getting her feet off the ground, their meetings transformed into a sort of a contest for a while.

**_‘_** _How can we make Akko take off in_ _the most ridiculous manner possible’_  was probably what most of them were thinking.

Roofs, trees, Constanze’s bots dropping her at various altitudes, cannons, windows, and some weird kind of mushroom that doubled as a parachute- they tried it all.

Some ideas worked, some ended in disaster, but Akko learned pretty quickly that Diana was usually around to catch her if anything went wrong.

Even if Diana wasn’t informed of their crazy plans beforehand, and even if most of the time Akko  _really_  didn’t want Diana to be the one to save her.

She always got a scolding afterward for ‘not being careful enough and endangering herself’.

“Akko, you could have gotten hurt!” she’d say, to which Akko would just reply with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of her head. She had a hard time trying to hide just how flustered she was while Diana studied her carefully for any potential injuries.

Akko thought about how much Diana’s demeanor changed every time she was in trouble or things got serious. In the heat of the moment, Diana seemed to let her stoic facade crumble away completely, often taking her hand, and looking at her with such a soft gaze… _Why am I thinking about this so much?_

———

Akko noticed the sun was already much closer to the horizon than when she got off the tower.

_ Looks like this is it. _

She was probably more disappointed with how well her flight went than she should be, but decided she’d been flying around long enough. It was time to make her way back to the tower.

She marveled at the view below for one last time, the trees and ruins now casting long shadows on the ground. Just as she was about to turn back, she noticed something at the edge of the forest.

She couldn’t really make out the shape, but some kind of shining mass was lying on the grass, glowing in the sunlight. It looked almost like it was burning.

Akko had no idea what it was but thought it looked super interesting and really, really wanted to see it up close. Before she noticed, she was already flying in that general direction, perhaps a bit faster than she would like.

Actually, it was a lot faster than she would like, especially combined with her very rapid decline in altitude.

Akko tried to fly in any direction other than down, but the broom seemed to ignore her.

“Thank you for nothing, you useless stick!” she said, a bit annoyed, but not nearly as worried as she should be, considering the circumstances.

_ I guess I’m gonna get a scolding again. _

———

“Tia Freyre!” Diana shouted mid-fall.

She was gaining speed at an astounding rate, shooting through the sky, focused only on getting to Akko in time.

_I have to make it,_  she thought.

———

Amanda watched Diana leap off the tower, with her broom still in hand.

_There we go again,_  she thought with a smirk.

“Should we go too?” Lotte asked, reaching for her broom.

“I think so,” Sucy said. “Akko’s gotten pretty far, I want to see what that moron did this time to be falling again.”

“Sucy!” Lotte said in a reprimanding voice. Sucy shrugged it off.

“Let’s go,” Amanda said, jumping on her broom.

The rest of the team were getting ready to go, too, at their own pace.

They didn’t really feel the need to hurry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback! You really motivated me to keep writing.
> 
> I hope I don't disappoint this time around- please tell me what to improve!


	3. Chapter 3

Diana was holding her broom with a firm grip, leaning forward as much as she could, brows furrowed and eyes focused. She couldn’t think of anything else than going faster.

She had to get to Akko.

Even though it happened all the time, Diana still felt her chest tighten unbearably every time Akko was in danger.

She always felt uncertain if she was going to make it.

Of course, until now she did every time. But it only took one failure from her for Akko to get hurt, and she couldn’t bear the thought.

_ Almost there. _

Upon getting closer Diana realized that Akko wasn’t actually falling for a change. She was headed almost straight for the ground, yes, but she was technically still riding her broom.

Diana took a closer look.

To be fair, it appeared more like the broom was flying down on its own and Akko was just along for the ride, struggling to hold on. It was still comforting somehow- she had more time to work with than if she was simply falling.

As Diana caught up, she slowed down to fly right next to Akko.

“Diana!” Akko’s face lit up with pure happiness when she saw her savior. Diana sighed internally.  _How can she look so happy in this situation?_

“Akko! What’s going on?”

“Shiny thing on the ground!” Akko shouted, looking down.

“What?”

“Shiny thing!” She pointed in the direction.

Diana’s eyes followed. They were indeed headed for some kind of shining mass on the ground, lying right where the forest ended. But this was hardly the time to worry about such things. There were still going at a speed much too fast for a reasonable landing, and if Akko didn’t slow down there’d be more pressing matters at hand.

Like, for example, falling to their death.

“Akko, slow down!”

“I’m trying! But my broom isn’t  _listening!_ ” Akko shot a frustrated look at her broom. She glanced back at Diana, then looked towards the ground again.

Diana considered stopping Akko with a spell or just plain force but decided to try something else.

“Akko! Don’t look down!”

“What?”

“You’re focusing too much on the ground. Think of how it feels to take off. Think of how your broom keeps you in the air!”

Akko furrowed her brows and focused on her broom.

“Stay!” she shouted. “Up! Stop!” She let out a groan. “Diana, I don’t think it’s working.”

They were getting too close to the ground.  _Not much time left,_ Diana thought. She had to divert Akko's attention somehow.  _Maybe this will work…_

“Look at me!”

“Huh?”

“Concentrate, Akko! Block everything else out. Focus only on this moment. Think of wanting to stay here, up in the air. Think of wanting to stay with me!”

Akko listened. She raised her chin to look at Diana.

They locked gazes, and Diana felt as if electricity coursed through her.

Akko’s eyes went wide, and they both could have sworn time stopped for a moment.

_ Snap. _

Akko’s broom came to such an abrupt halt mid-air, that she smashed her face right into it.

Diana still flew a bit further down, caught off guard by Akko’s sudden reaction, then swiftly turned around to get back to her.

They were now hovering just barely above the treetops of the forest underneath- which was still a good height above the ground. This forest, in particular, was known for its absurdly gigantic trees.

Akko needed a second to catch her breath.

“Diana… Couldn’t you let me know… Before you made me stop?” She rubbed her forehead, a red mark visible from where it collided with her broom.

“I wasn’t the one to stop your fall this time, Akko,” Diana said, moving closer to check her for potential injuries. “I knew you could regain control of your broom on your own, I just didn’t know what would be… compelling enough to take your mind off wanting to land.”

She inched forward and put her own hand against Akko’s forehead. “Are you alright?”

Akko looked to the side as she felt her cheeks flush at Diana’s proximity. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Diana closed in some more, Akko’s blush deepening.

“Are you sure? Do you feel dizzy? Your face seems warm,” Diana said, cupping Akko’s cheek.

Akko looked like she was about to faint.

“I think we should head back and go to the infirmary.”

“N-no need! I’m fine, really!” Akko shuffled back a bit to regain her composure. “I was flying in the sun for too long, that’s all!”

Diana was still skeptical.

“And I still really want to see what’s down there!” Akko pleaded.

Diana almost forgot what caused this situation in the first place. She looked down, but couldn’t really tell where the shining thing she saw before was. The sun had just set, and the source of light it apparently was reflecting disappeared with it.

“Akko, wouldn’t it be better if we headed back for now? I don’t see anything, and it’ll be dark soon. We can come look for it tomorrow.”

“But it might not be here tomorrow! I remember where it is, so we should go now!” Akko looked at Diana, pure determination in her eyes. “Please?”

Diana knew that there was no point in arguing once Akko made up her mind.

“Can you make it down on your own?” As the words left Diana’s mouth, she realized Akko had already started to descend. She didn’t seem to be aware of it.

Diana took her hand. “For safety reasons,” she said, “maybe I should lead the way.”

“Oh,” Akko said, a bit flustered. “Yeah, sure.” She smiled sheepishly, letting Diana guide her.

“I saw it there-“ Akko pointed to a barely visible path beneath.

Diana was careful to keep their pace slow.

**  
______________**

 

“It was somewhere around here, I’m sure of it!” Akko said, following the path at the edge of the forest, Diana walking beside her. “Do you think it moved?”

“That depends on what we’re looking for,” Diana replied. “Do you think it might be alive?”

Akko honestly had no idea. Because of the brilliant light it reflected, it was nearly impossible to make out a shape.

It might as well be a cauldron full of gold, which actually was a pretty nice thought.

On one side of the path tall tees were looming over them, the inside of the forest seemingly pitch black. On the other, fog had started to creep up, covering boundless fields like a white, fuzzy blanket. The sky changed colors rapidly, going from a light blue to a deep, dark purple.

Akko was having second thoughts about her search- there was something ominous about this place. It was getting difficult to tell colors apart, and with nothing to light their way except for their wands, the shiny-whatever wouldn’t be very visible either.

“What are you doing?”

Akko jumped at the noise right behind her ear and latched onto Diana’s arm in panic. They turned around.

“Amanda!” Akko shrieked. “Did you  _have_  to?!”

Amanda was recovering from her fit of laughter. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Behind her, the remaining witches were getting off their brooms.

“What are you all doing here?” Akko asked.

“Well,” Lotte started, “usually Diana retrieved you before anyone else even got to you. But when we saw you land, we thought we’d follow…”

“To see how you messed up this time,” Sucy finished.

Akko pouted. “I didn’t mess up! I mean I did, but only a little… Anyway, we’re looking for something!”

“Oh? And how’s that going?” Amanda said with a smug grin.

Hannah and Barbara exchanged looks, then looked back at Akko.

_ What are they…? _

Akko realized she was still practically glued to Diana. She let go of her in a quick motion. Diana didn’t react.

“I-It’s going well! It would just probably go better if we had some kind of light source or something, our wands don’t really do much and the thing we’re looking for reflects light.”

“Light?” Lotte took out her wand. “Maybe my fairies could-“

She was interrupted by a beam of bright light hitting her right in the face. Akko squinted and looked at its source.

_A good old flashlight,_  Akko grinned. Leave it to Constanze to have one with her. Especially one this intense.

“Yay! Let’s go!”

Hannah and Barbara watched utterly baffled as the witches followed Akko without question.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Barbara asked.

“I don’t know!” Akko happily proclaimed.

The pair exchanged bewildered looks.

“You’ll get used to it,” Sucy told them with a shrug.

They walked along the narrow path for a few minutes, the air getting noticeably colder. Akko shuddered.

“Shiny…” they heard Jasminka say, to no one in particular. She seemed to have her eyes fixed on something ahead.

Akko followed her gaze. “There it is!” she shouted. It was just a bit farther ahead, partially covered by the tall grass right next to the path they were walking on. If Diana didn’t put a hand on Akko’s shoulder, she would have taken off running.

“Akko, I think I know what it is,” Diana said. She turned to Constanze. “It would be safer if we used magic to light our path for now.” Constanze nodded.

Their eyes had to adjust for a bit after they turned off the light, as dusk had started to turn into night, and the dim light of their wands was the only thing to lead their way once again.

“What is it?” Akko could barely contain her excitement. They had to get closer to see it more clearly.

They took a few more steps, then jerked to a halt once they realized what they found.

“Whoa,” Amanda said. “That’s one big iguana.”

“It’s a dragon!” Akko said, maybe a bit too loudly, looking with wide eyes at what lay before her.

There it was, a motionless ball of wings, scales, and tail, about the size of a very big dog. Or maybe a very tiny horse? Akko noticed the grayish scales seemed to reflect even the weak, green light coming from their wands.

“Shhh! You’ll wake it up!” Lotte whispered.

“Maybe it’s dead,” Sucy said.

“Maybe it’s hungry…” Jasna added.

“Maybe we should just leave it here and get back to school?” Hannah proposed, clinging to Barbara.

“It’s not a dragon,” Diana said. She took a few steps forward, leaving their safe zone behind. She approached the creature very carefully as if it might escape at any second. “It’s a wyvern.”

“What’s the difference?” Akko asked as she watched Diana walk ahead.

Sucy stopped to think for a moment. “I think a wyvern has two legs and a pair of wings, where a dragon has four legs and wings,” she said.

“I think there was more than that…” Lotte added. “Didn’t we have a class about that recently?”

“We did,” Sucy said. “It was pretty boring. I zoned out about ten minutes in.”

“How can anything about dragons be boring? And I don’t remember any of it!” Akko groaned.

“You probably slept through all of it,” Sucy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Akko was going to be offended, but after some thought agreed that that might have been the case.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. But dragon still sounds way cooler tha-“

They were interrupted by a deep rumbling sound that made them all freeze up completely.

Akko felt as if the vibrations shook the ground underneath her feet. The sensation went right through her, up along her spine, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t move a muscle. Was the dragon causing it? She couldn’t focus her thought’s at all.

The sound soon disappeared, and the witches were exchanging bewildered looks. All except for Diana, which Akko saw kneeling next to the creature, surrounded by a soft, green light.

“Diana?” Akko asked, hesitating to step closer. “What are you…?”

“I think it’s hurt,” she said, focused on her magic. “I don’t know what happened, but it needs help. I’ve put a spell on it to calm it down.”

“So the scary sound just now…?”

“It was self-defense,” Diana said, putting her wand down. “It seems to be on the verge of consciousness, so it probably picked up that something was happening around it. It tried to scare us away.”

Akko watched amazed as Diana took one of the dragon’s wings in her hand and opened it, revealing it’s impressive size, then watched if it folded correctly. She did so with no hesitation whatsoever, her features focused, but soft.

Diana had a look on her face that Akko recognized from all the times she treated her from her injuries, or even when she simply asked if Akko was feeling okay, with nothing but worry and so much compassion in her eyes.

As Diana continued searching for wounds, Amanda stepped next to Akko. “Hey Cavendish, how come you didn’t freeze up like the rest of us?” she asked.

“We’ve had quite a lot of animals back home that I’ve been taking care of,” Diana replied. “My aunt and cousins took a liking to reptiles as well.” She leaned over the unconscious animal, taking the other wing into her hands. “Those needed treatment sometimes, too. I feel no resentment towards them, and I have no reason to fear them.”

“That still doesn’t explain why the lizard’s magic didn’t affect you,” Amanda pressed.

“It wasn’t magic,” Diana said. “Fear was the only reason for your temporary paralysis. It’s a natural reaction to the vibrations.”

“What? I wasn’t… afraid I mean why would I of all people… of a gecko…” Amanda crossed her arms over her chest, and her flow of words turned into incoherent mumbling.

“Aw, did she hurt your pride?” Sucy appeared next to them, grinning at Amanda.

“Me? No way,” Amanda huffed. “Let’s focus on the lizard problem, okay?”

“If you say so,” Sucy said languidly.

They all started moving forward towards the creature, more curious than anything.

Akko knelt down next to Diana, hesitant if she should disturb her. “So… Did you find anything?” she asked. From this close Akko could tell the dragon was breathing very heavily, its rib cage moving up and down slowly.

Without the wings covering it, it was much smaller than Akko previously thought. It was hard not to feel sorry for it.

“Nothing that would put it into such a state…” Diana put her hand up to her chin, seemingly lost in thought. “I don’t think I can do much more from here. We should take it back to Luna Nova.”

“We what?!” Hannah and Barbara shrieked in unison.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out a bit longer than I expected! I had a blast writing it, I hope it's fine~


	4. Chapter 4

“ _How_  exactly do we get it back to Luna Nova?” Sucy asked.

Diana knew the easiest way would be using a levitation spell, but she didn’t want to put the weakened wyvern under more magic than necessary.

“It would be optimal if we could avoid using any more spells,” Diana said, “but it seems too heavy to simply carry back…”

She looked around trying to find an alternative solution, but there wasn’t much she could think of that wouldn’t involve magic.

She saw Akko desperately trying to think of something too, pacing back and forth between Lotte and Sucy.

Amanda whispered something to Jasminka, then turned to Diana.

“You say you’ve put a calming spell on it? It won’t attack us if we touch it?” she asked.

“As far as I know, it shouldn’t,” Diana said.

“Good enough.” Amanda nodded to Jasminka.

The others simply watched in silence as Jasna made her broom hover next to the unconscious wyvern, walked over, carefully put her arms around it and picked it up without much effort, holding it like an overgrown kitten. She then sat on her broom in an elegant sidesaddle, ready to fly with the reptile in her lap.

Constanze and Amanda seemed to be extremely proud of their teammate.

Diana saw Akko’s jaw comically drop and felt a tug at the corners of her lips. Akko was jumping up and down, trying her best to be quiet.

“Jasna, that’s so cool! I didn’t know you were super strong!” Akko said in an exaggerated whisper, voicing her excitement.

Watching Akko, Diana couldn’t help but smile. She has always thought that Akko’s enthusiasm was very endearing, a bit contagious even, and she found that it tended to lighten her mood immediately. “It’s a great solution,” she said.

Akko’s eyes lit up, and she practically skipped over to Diana. “Are we going to take care of it?”

“We’ll see. We’ll have to talk to someone first,” she said, preparing her broom for take-off. “Akko, can you make it back on your own?”

“Sure I can!” Akko said in a cheerful tone. “I’ll just keep my eyes on-“ she locked gazes with Diana, then promptly looked to the side, “-the team. I-I’ll just follow where all of you are going,” she finished with some hesitance.

“Okay,” Diana said, trying to figure out why the witch avoided her eyes just then. “But don’t hesitate to tell me if you’ll need any help at all.” Akko was looking nervous again, just like before today’s test flight. She wondered if Akko might be unsure of her flying after the incident. Or maybe she was feeling unwell? She considered if she should bring Akko to the infirmary after all once they get back.

Amanda rolled her eyes in the background and walked over to Akko.

“Don’t worry so much, Cavendish,” she said, patting Akko on the back with enough force to blow the wind right out of her lungs. “She’ll do fine! Now let’s get going, we don’t have all night!”

“Yeah,” Akko huffed, still a bit breathless. “Let’s take the dragon to Luna Nova!”

Diana glared at Amanda, who met her with a cocky grin, but decided they didn’t have time to spare for pointless bickering. She’d just have to keep an eye on Akko on the way back, as she usually did. She mounted her broom, the rest of the team following suit.

“Tia Freyre!”  


_________

 

“Should we knock?” Lotte asked, fidgeting with her hands. “It  _is_  pretty late…”

“Of course we should! Professor Chariot will help us for sure!” Akko said, already banging her fist on the door before anyone could stop her.

Diana put a hand on Lotte’s shoulder. “This is important, I’m sure Professor Chariot will understand,” she reassured. Both of them watched as Akko stood on her toes to plant her face on the circular window in the door.

Behind it, they could hear a loud smash, then a sound as if something heavy just fell over. A second later the door opened to reveal a very flustered Chariot in her tracksuit, her red hair unkempt, with stray strands sticking out everywhere. Her cheeks were tinted red, the color matching that of her eyes and hair.

“Akko wh-“ she froze. “Girls? What are you  _all_ doing here?” Chariot said, promptly putting her glasses on and smoothing her hair out with a hand.

Diana stepped next to Akko. “Excuse us if we disturbed you-“

“No, no, I was just-“ Chariot quickly cut in “-reading… a letter from-“ she shook her head. “It’s nothing important. Anyway, what brings you here this late?” Having calmed her nerves, Chariot’s demeanor changed to a slightly more serious tone.

“We have been flying with Akko around the Luna Nova Tower and found an injured wyvern,” Diana said, getting right to the point. She motioned to Jasminka, who still had the wyvern in her arms, to step closer.

As the light coming from the door washed over them, Chariots eyes widened. The nine witches seemed to be just as astounded, watching how the creature’s scales, especially the larger ones on the back, shimmered in iridescent colors.

“Whoa, it looks like it shines rainbows on it’s back!” Akko said in awe. Amanda snorted at the statement, and Akko gave her a confused look.

“But it looks like without the reflection, it’s plain white,” Diana said, already examining the wyvern again in new lighting.

“Where on earth…” Chariot looked at the creature and furrowed her brows. “Let’s bring it inside,” she said, turning around. She motioned for them to follow her and looked around the room, then proceeded to make some space on one of the tables. She turned to Jasminka. “You can put it down here.”

Having gently laid the wyvern down, they all circled the table.

“Have you put any spells on it?” Chariot asked as she started to examine the wyvern, not unlike how Diana did before.

“Only a calming spell where we found it,” Diana replied, watching attentively. Akko, Sucy, and Lotte, as well as Amanda and her team, watched with interest, too.

Only Hannah and Barbara kept their distance.

“I can’t believe we actually brought a wild animal with us to Luna Nova,” Hannah said quietly.

“And I’m very glad you did,” Chariot said, taking a step back from the wyvern. “It looks like it might have some mild internal injuries. Maybe it took a fall from high altitude, maybe it was attacked by something bigger; it’s still just a hatchling after all. It should rest for a while, but when it wakes up you’ll have to decide what to do next.” She directed her words to the whole team, but her gaze lingered on Diana at the end.

Diana nodded - an answer to the unsaid question only she realized.

“ _That’s_  a hatchling?” Akko said, eyes wide.

Chariot nodded. “A few months old at best.”

“Whoa,” Akko exhaled.

“Professor, how do you know all this?” Barbara asked.

“Chariot has taken in all kinds of animals!” Akko answered enthusiastically. She pointed to the bird watching them from its porch. “Like Alcor! And she even saved and raised a bear, it’s the guardian of the Fountain of Polaris now!”

Diana nudged Akko with a shoulder. “Professor,” she whispered.

“What?”

Diana sighed. Akko still had a tendency to get overexcited about her childhood idol, even if said idol was standing right in front of her. There was something charmingly honest about it.

“It’s  _Professor_  Chariot,” she repeated quietly.

Akko realized what she just said. “Oh, sorry, Professor Chariot,” she said with a blush.

Chariot gave an uncomfortable laugh. “It’s fine, Akko. But yes, I’ve taken care of a few animals when I was around your age. However, that’s a story for a different time,” she said looking at a yawning Constanze. “It’s getting very late, and you should be going to bed. You can leave the wyvern here for tonight, I’ll put a spell on it to keep it asleep so it can heal.”

“Will that really be all right, Professor?” Diana asked.

“Of course it will, it’s my duty to help my students out,” Chariot said with a smile. “You weren’t going to take it with you to your room, were you?” she said, glancing at Akko.

“What? No… Of course not,” Akko said with an innocent giggle, avoiding Chariot’s eyes.

“Then it’s settled,” Chariot said. “And one more thing - there’s only so much I know about wyverns. You might want to look for some books on them in the library.”

This time it was Lotte who yawned.

“Once you get a good nights rest,” Chariot added softly.

Akko looked lost in thought. “What day is it today?” she asked.

“As in of the week? Friday,” Lotte said, her eyelids half closed. “Or maybe it’s already Saturday morning, I don’t know.”

“Then we’ll come back first thing in the morning! Right?” Akko looked at her teammates expectantly. Amanda and Constanze gave her a thumbs up, Jasminka simply smiled, Hannah and Barbara looked skeptical, and Lotte looked like she was about to doze off any minute now.

Diana wondered how Akko still had so much energy left after such an eventful day.

“Weren’t we going to look for books in the library?” Sucy asked.

“But it might wake up by morning! We have to check on the dragon first, maybe it’ll feel better already!”

“I support the idea,” Diana said. “We can plan our day then, depending on the state of the wyvern. Someone might have to stay with it, others might want to go to the library to see what they can find.” Akko stared at her with an expression of… Disbelief? Gratitude? Diana wasn’t sure.

“If  _the_  Diana Cavendish says so,” Sucy shrugged.

“Are we all supposed to come?” Barbara asked with some uncertainty. Hannah nodded, emphasizing the question.

“Well, we all found the lizard together, didn’t we?” Amanda said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t you two think we’re all responsible for it now?”

Diana glared at Amanda, then turned to her two teammates. “No one will force you to participate,” she said gently. “It’s okay if you don’t want to.” She smiled at the pair.

Hannah and Barbara looked like they were about to cry. They exchanged a look.

“No, we’ll definitely come,” Hannah said.

“We’ll help,” Barbara added.

“Then it’s decided!” Akko beamed at the group. “It’s a team meeting!”

“Yeah,” Barbara said with a hint of a smile. “We’re a team, right?”

“Sure we are! All nine of us,” Akko stated with the most convincing grin she could muster.

Diana felt a warmth in her chest. Both Hannah and Barbara were genuinely smiling at Akko, no jokes or teasing involved. It was a rare sight, but she figured the pair would warm up to her eventually.

“We should get going, then,” she said. “Let’s prepare for a long day tomorrow.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much for the comments! You guys are the best. I really appreciate the feedback!
> 
> Who wrote Chariot a letter? :^)


	5. Chapter 5

Akko lay awake for what seemed to be an eternity. Listening to the gentle snoring coming from the bunk bed above her, thoughts of a certain blonde occupied her mind.

Just as they were about to part ways to their respective dorm rooms, Amanda having left with her team a few minutes earlier, Diana asked her to stay behind for a moment to ask if she was feeling okay. Sucy and Lotte were waiting for them to finish talking so they could go to their room together, but Hannah and Barbara said their goodnights and went ahead.

"I'm just going to the library to check on something," Diana had said, flashing a slightly rusty key in her hand when Akko asked. "I won't be there for long.”

Akko turned in her bed, watching how some of the moonlight came in through their window. Was Diana still in the library?

Her mind wandered to one evening a few weeks back, when Diana had taken it upon her to tutor her for some test she couldn’t even really recall anymore. She only remembered that they sat at a table with heaps of books around them, Diana sorting through them with care, picking the best one for each topic. And she remembered a conversation they had.

Akko said something completely innocent, an offhand remark, that she could never understand how someone could sit in one place and simply study for so long. Where was the appeal? The things they had to learn for classes were usually horribly boring, and textbook style writing never really spoke to her. Facts and statistics and more bland facts. Everything pulled out of context, never making much sense on a grander scale.

This, however, prompted Diana to tell her how much she read as a child. How there were books written in a way where she could feel the passion and energy the author put in their research. How many stories would cause her to lose track of time completely, or once finished would stay with her for days or weeks or years. She told her of all the times she ventured to the hidden library in her home to read about the findings of her ancestors, read what some of them spend their whole life on working. She studied spells, history, whatever piqued her interest, and she never even thought of it as something people could dislike.

The scene kept replaying in Akko's head. She rarely saw Diana talk about anything with so much emotion, with that distinct spark in her eyes, where she seemed to forget her surroundings and voiced her inner thoughts and honest feelings.

She turned again. Diana was most probably still in the library. Why wouldn’t she wait until tomorrow? Did she really need to research something so desperately it couldn’t wait a few more hours? What if she also couldn’t sleep because of it?

At the back of her mind, she asked herself if she wasn’t thinking about this too much. If she wasn’t thinking about Diana too much. Has it always been like this? When did her thoughts start drifting towards the blonde so much? She didn’t know.

She checked the time.

1:28 am.

It's been over an hour since they came back.

She got up as quietly as possible, threw her cloak on and took her wand as a source of light.

"Where are you going?" Sucy whispered as Akko was just about to open the door.

She froze. "To the library," she blurted out, having no time to think of a better answer.

Sucy stared at her for a moment, her expression blank. "What a dumb dream," she said and went back to sleep.

Akko let out a breath she didn't realize she’s been holding.

________

 

As Akko carefully approached the library she noticed the door was half open, a soft flickering light coming through. In the complete silence of the empty hallways, she could faintly hear a page being turned.

What was she doing? She didn't really give it much thought.

She couldn't sleep, and there was the whole wyvern situation.

She wanted to know what Diana was looking for in the middle of the night and she wanted to make sure she’d get time to rest, too.

It felt as reason enough to be there, but she still seriously questioned if that’s what she should tell Diana.

She began pacing along the hallway, lost in thought. Diana would be surprised to see her for sure, so she had to prepare an answer. She couldn’t just say, _Hey Diana, I was thinking about you so much that I came to see you._

"Akko?"

Akko jumped right on cue, ripped from her train of thoughts.

Diana was standing in the doorframe, staring at Akko wide-eyed, a lit candle in her hand. For a second she simply stood there, frozen in place, surprise- no, _shock_ on her features.

_But why was she…_

_Wait._

Feeling her stomach drop, Akko stared blankly into the distance. "Did I say that out loud?"

The answer came in the form of an awkward nod and a look to the side. "I heard someone walking outside… Excuse me if I intruded-"

"No, no, I just wanted to-" Akko interrupted, gesturing wildly, heat rising to her cheeks. "I-I wanted to see if you were still in the library. I couldn't sleep. D-Do you need any help?"

"Help?"

"With, I don't know, reading?" _That was dumb_ , she mentally scolded herself. "Maybe I could look for… What are you looking for? I can look for books or… something." She tripped over the words.

Diana's expression softened slightly. "I'm almost done with my research. You can join me for a moment if you'd like."

Akko blinked twice in disbelief as she thought she saw the faintest blush on Diana's cheeks.

She decided it must have been her imagination and blamed it on bad lighting.

_______

 

 _What am I supposed to do with you_ , Diana thought as she watched Akko make her way to sit on the opposite side of the table, a hint of a blush still on her face. Why exactly was she here? Akko’s presence was unexpected, to say the least, but what she said earlier… It was clear Diana had walked in on something she wasn’t supposed to hear.

The thing was that what she'd heard was, in fact, about her.

_Why would she be thinking of me?_

She glanced at Akko and saw her looking around the library, fidgeting with her hands in a nervous manner. A thought, an explanation crossed her mind, but she pushed it back as far as she could in favor of keeping her sanity. _Of course that’s not it._

She decided it might be better if she didn't overanalyze it. After all, knowing Akko, it might just have been a stray thought leaking out, a misunderstanding.

"So," Akko collected her nerves and looked at the books Diana had previously spread out across the table. "What are we looking for?"

"We're trying to find out what species of wyvern we found."

"Okay," Akko rested her chin on her hand. "How’s that going?"

"I've found a few that are similar to our specimen in some ways, but I still don't have a hundred-percent match."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow? Aren't you tired?"

As a matter of fact, Diana was very tired. But judging from Akko's worried gaze, with eyes a bit glassy and smaller than usual, so was she. Diana decided she wouldn't stay for much longer; she'd found out enough for the night.

"I'll just look through a few more details to find the definite species and we can call it a day."

_And what a long day it's been._

"Do we need to know _exactly_ what it is?"

"It's actually extremely important. That's why I came here at this hour in the first place." Diana took one of the books and opened it on a chapter with an ink drawing of a creature with enormous black wings almost covering both pages, scarce text in between. "They haven't been researched much, but there's extreme variety between different species." She turned a few pages and stopped on a drawing of five much smaller brownish wyverns, a considerable amount of writing visible this time around. "Some are strictly solitary, some prefer staying in groups or families. Because of this some of them might be much more territorial, or more aggressive than others. If we accidentally took a young from a larger group we could very well be expecting a raid of furious wyverns looking for it very soon. If they were of a species that's active at night it might even be tonight, but thankfully I have found that lighter-colored wyverns are usually active by day, where their dark-colored counterparts are better adapted for living in the dark."

She looked up from her book to find Akko snoring softly, sound asleep on the table.

 _It's late, huh?_  

Diana sighed, a warm smile soon following. _How did she even stay awake this long?_

She watched Akko's peaceful expression, a rare sight in itself, with bangs of hair falling over her sleeping face. She barely noticed when her hand wandered across the table to gently brush them to the side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen. I've wanted to write this chapter so badly. I think I found my favorite thing to write yet.  
> It's those two dorks.


	6. Chapter 6

The annoying ringing of the alarm clock pulled Akko out of her dream, any memories of it fleeting within seconds. She could swear the clock went off at least 2 hours too soon - she felt like she barely slept at all. “I don’t wanna get up,” she groaned and pulled the blanket over her face. The morning sun was much too bright for her tired eyes.

“But Akko, you were the one who wanted to get up first thing in the morning,” Lotte said while already getting ready for the day.

_Me?_

Akko slowly began to recall the events of the last evening, her mind still in the process of waking up.

First, they went flying, then…

“The wyvern!” Akko shouted, shooting up and out of her blanket and sitting on the bed.

“Wow, you remembered,” Sucy said with her usual morning apathy, sitting cross-legged on her own bed.

“Hey, no need for sarcasm!” Akko pouted. “We didn’t get much sleep last night!”

“Some of us got more than others…”

Akko froze as she remembered as to _why_ exactly she was so exhausted.

She went to the library for no apparent reason.

Actually, there was a reason.

Which Diana had heard.

And she fell asleep on the table.

And she felt gentle fingers running through her hair.

Mortified, she faintly recalled leaning into the touch.

She remembered gentle blue eyes watching her as she opened her eyes, Diana’s warm smile, her voice no more than a whisper-

“Akko, are you okay?” Lotte asked.

“Your face is bright red,” Sucy noted.

Akko took a second to register what they were saying.

“I-I was in the library,” she said, more to herself than her teammates.

Lotte moved closer in confusion. “What? When?”

“So it really wasn’t a dream,” Sucy mumbled with a genuine hint of surprise in her voice.

Lotte looked at Sucy quizzically, then back at Akko.

“She got up in the middle of the night and said she was going to the library,” Sucy explained.

“To the library?” Lotte was perplexed. “Wasn’t Diana…”

Akko hid her face in her hands, waiting for the inevitable.

Lotte inhaled sharply as realization struck.

“You went to see Diana!” she shouted in excitement, sparks in her eyes. She sat on Akko’s bed and took her hands from her face, looking her right in the eyes. “And? What happened?”

“Well, uhhh…” Akko struggled, trying to find the right words to reply.

Lotte watched her with anticipation.

“Wait a second,” Akko paused, forgetting about her embarrassment for a moment. “You’re not surprised?”

Lotte averted her gaze a bit. “Well, not really…” She sought Sucy’s eyes.

Akko shot Sucy a questioning look.

“You were being kind of obvious,” Sucy said.

“We… figured it out at some point,” Lotte added.

Akko was dumbstruck. “You figured what out?”

“You know…” Lotte started. “About Diana?”

“What about her?”

Lotte and Sucy shared a glance, dumbfound that their teammate apparently really was this oblivious.

They sat like that for a bit, an awkward silence in the room but for the birds chirping outside.

“Well, lately when you’re around Diana… it’s just an observation, but-“ Lotte gestured with her hands trying to find the appropriate words “-it looks a bit like you’re-“

“For the past few months you’ve been acting like a lovestruck idiot around her,” Sucy summarized.

“I what?!” Akko shrieked like a cat that just had its tail stepped on. Her whole face felt hot, the blush creeping up all the way to her ears. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest and she felt as if her ability of coherent thought temporarily shut down, instead replaced by a hazy feeling resembling terror.

Sucy and Lotte silently watched as Akko got up from the bed and walked out of the room, still in her pajamas.

Behind the closed door, they could hear a muffled scream.

“Sucy, wasn’t that a bit too direct?”

Sucy shrugged. “It’s been so long it was getting boring. Besides, looks like now she’ll finally realize.”

Lotte gasped. “Sucy! Could it be that you-“ she put a hand to her mouth.

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“You _do_ care!”

“Akko was just being annoying.”

“Right,” Lotte teased, failing to hide her smile.

The door to their room opened with a thud, a still-blushing Akko standing in the doorframe.

“Was I being that obvious?”

Her roommates shared a look and nodded.

  
____

“Do you hear that?” Amanda said as she approached Chariot’s astronomy tower.

All of them having arrived at roughly the same time, nine witches stopped to listen.

“What’s that noise?” Akko jogged over to the door and leaned on it to look through the window, knocking energetically.

The witches standing behind her were waiting in anticipation as to what they’d find. Judging from the horrible screeching coming from inside the tower, it was nothing good.

“Good timing!” Chariot said, opening the door so abruptly Akko almost fell inside.

“What happened?” Diana asked, quickly walking inside after Akko, the rest of the team following suit.

“Your wyvern woke up a few minutes ago, I was just about to separate those two,” Chariot said, pointing towards a wall.

As their eyes followed, their mouths fell slightly agape. On one of the taller lamps sat a very focused reptile, its long tail slowly wagging from side to side, the claws on its wings clutching the lampshade, helping it keep balance. Its deep red eyes were fixed ahead, like those of a predator ready to pounce.

On the exact opposite side of the room, a tad higher on the railing upstairs, sat a very distressed Alcor, his cacophonous screeching making the witches cringe. He sat directly in front of a large window, aggressively flapping his wings at the wyvern, a number of stray feathers floating through the air.

At the exact moment Diana raised her wand, ready to intervene, the wyvern jumped with an additional push of its wings, knocking the lamp over in the process.

Alcor momentarily stopped screeching, and silently leapt to the right, evading the reptile perfectly.

The witches winced as the wyvern, having slightly miscalculated the jump, flung itself headfirst into the window, bounced back, and dropped onto the floor in front of them.

“Wow, it somehow reminds me of Akko,” Sucy deadpanned.

“Agreed,” Amanda nodded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Alcor landed on Chariot’s extended arm, and if a bird could somehow look annoyed, that’s exactly what he looked like.

“Sorry about that,” Chariot said to her familiar. “Could you come back in a bit?” She opened the front door, Alcor eagerly flying outside.

While the reptile seemed to wake up from its window-induced knockout, Diana began slowly walking towards it, bending down to eventually kneel in front of it. She carefully extended one arm in its direction.

As the wyvern reluctantly rose to its feet, head still mildly swaying from side to side, its eyes were glued to Diana’s hand, silently watching as it moved closer.

Lotte and Sucy each put a hand on Akko’s shoulders, Hannah and Barbara were clinging to each other, and no one dared make a sound, the air going unnaturally still in an instant. Touching and handling an unconscious animal was one thing, but when it tried to hunt something down minutes earlier, with a head big enough to bite a hand off, it certainly put things into perspective.

Diana waited patiently as the wyvern moved toward her at snail pace.

Once curiosity took the better of it, it sniffed at the outstretched hand, and without any further hesitation, gave it a deliberate lick.

Akko jumped, thinking it was going to bite, but quickly realized that was not the case when the reptile gracelessly plopped onto the ground and rubbed its head against Diana’s palm.

The witches collectively exhaled in relief, and Diana seemed to positively brighten up. For a moment, when she had to stop the animal from apparently trying to lick her face, pure joy was written across her features in what could only be called a childlike expression.

To those who didn’t yet have the opportunity to see this side of Diana, which admittedly was most of the witches present, it probably came as more of a shock than the taming of their newfound winged companion itself. A number of jaws dropped, Sucy groaned, and Akko thought she was an idiot for just now realizing how deeply she fell for her.

“Looks like it recalls you as its savior from yesterday,” Chariot said, glad about how the situation turned out.

Diana got up to her feet and gently motioned for the wyvern to stay put. Surprisingly, it obeyed.

“Professor, I have been searching for the species of our wyvern, but could not find an exact match. I’ve come to the conclusion it would be best if we found out what happened to it, if it belongs to a group, and eventually where we should release it to.”

Chariot nodded, a knowing smile. “Is that your decision?”

“Considering it is still very young, I feel like we should prioritize to return it to its family if there is any.” Diana turned to the remaining witches. “Does anyone suggest a different approach?”

The team, barely even considering questioning Diana’s decision, met her with shrugs and shaking heads.

“It sounds like a great plan,” Akko nodded with a grin.

“Hey Diana,” came a shout from Amanda. “Can the lizard eat grapes?”

“Grapes?” Diana noticed that the creature had moved from its previous spot, now sitting in front of Jasminka, intently staring at the grape in her hand.

“It should be fine.”

Jasna threw the grape at the wyvern, which it caught and gulped down in a flash. Constanze threw the next one, smiling with an odd sense of satisfaction when the winged reptile jumped to catch it.

“And here I thought they’d only eat meat or something,” Amanda wondered.

“They’re omnivorous, their diet can be very varied,” Diana explained.

As Amanda watched her teammates coming up with more creative ways to throw the grapes, she thought of something not adding up. “Wait, when exactly did you have time to research species and all this?”

“I stayed up for a while longer yesterday,” Diana answered plainly, but as the words left her mouth she saw Lotte vigorously beckoning Amanda to come closer, then turning to Barbara and doing the same.

Diana thought it was a bit unusual, but didn’t pay it too much mind, watching as Hannah unexpectedly joined in on the grape-throwing instead.

That was until, after a few seconds of Lotte’s whispering, Barbara gasped, Amanda said, “Oh my god, finally,” and Akko hid her face in her hands. Diana glanced at them inquisitively when Amanda locked eyes with her and wiggled her eyebrows.

Diana promptly turned around, hiding her expression from the insufferable rebel. She sincerely hoped they weren’t talking about what she thought they might have been talking about.

“How about naming it?” Chariot asked while she watched the three witches throwing grapes, by the way saving Diana from her own thoughts.

“Right, we probably should stop calling it ‘the wyvern’,” Akko said, already lost in thought. “Any ideas?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading up until now! 
> 
> Thoughts?


	7. Chapter 7

Akko watched as the wyvern contentedly trotted on all fours one step behind Diana, nine witches and an overgrown lizard walking through the empty school grounds. She thought it must have been quite a sight. 

After Professor Chariot informed them that she needed to go research something at the Archives, they decided to head for one of their usual hang-out spots, the one they always associated with Akko taking off on her broom for the first time. 

They didn’t see a single other student outside, which wasn’t all that surprising this early on a Saturday. They only passed some staff, who sometimes did a double take at the reptile walking with them. Once they noticed Diana, though, they immediately bowed their head, said their good-mornings, and resumed their duties. 

Since Diana had become an integral part of their team and began spending that much more time with them, Akko sometimes caught herself forgetting the status she still had amongst the witches and not-so-witches at Luna Nova. Sure, Akko still caught glimpses of people asking Diana for help, as they always did, but it was a sight she, and for that matter, the rest of the team probably too, were so used to, she didn’t even think twice about it.

Now that she did think about it, though, Akko wondered where in the world Diana found time for it all. To study as much as she did, take care of all the things people asked of her, occasionally help Akko with _her_ studies, attend most their flight meet-ups, _and_ get Akko out of trouble when she got caught, which still happened more frequently than she’d like to admit. Did Diana get any sleep at all? 

Akko’s eyes were drawn to the blonde walking a few steps ahead, talking to Amanda. Surprisingly enough it didn’t look like they were arguing. Not yet at least. 

Considering Akko and Diana went to bed around the same time yesterday, the thought of which sent Akko's mind reeling in directions she very much didn’t want to think about at the moment, Diana should feel about the same as Akko today, which was a good amount of _tired_. More importantly, though, Akko thought she should _look_ tired, at least a little bit. 

Akko was pretty sure she herself had bags under her eyes, yet Diana looked as beautiful and flawless as ever. On second thought, she didn’t look tired at the library yesterday, either. Akko was struck by the thought that she might simply not have noticed or hadn’t paid enough attention.

_What if she’s tired but good at hiding it?_

“You’re staring.”

 _Huh?_

Sucy lightly patted Akko’s shoulder. “You’re gross. A bit longer and you’re going to start salivating.”

“Oh,” Akko blushed slightly. “Sorry.” 

Akko decided she’d have to ask Diana about it eventually, but focused more on the conversation around her for the time being.

“Maybe Edgar?” Lotte proposed.

_Right, the naming business._

“Nice one!” Barbara agreed, giving her a thumbs up.

Akko thought there must have been some kind of inside joke involved. “Edgar? Really?” 

“I’d go with Sparkles. Look how sparkly he is,” Amanda said, motioning to the wyvern, her expression absolutely serious. 

“I’d say he’s more shiny than sparkly,” Akko said. “Wait, do we even know it’s a _he_? Diana?”

“I’d say I’m about 70% sure it’s male.” 

Amanda eyed Diana skeptically. “70%? What’s with those odds?” 

“It’s hard to tell when they’re young,” Diana stated. “Besides, it’s not always a binary thing.”

“That’s pretty interesting,” Akko said, skipping a few steps closer, eyeing the reptile curiously. 

“Okay, let’s just go with 'he',” Amanda shrugged. “Any other name ideas?”

They all looked at Constanze who began scribbling something on her board. 

“Stan,” it said. 

“Good one,” Amanda chuckled. 

Akko groaned. “Look at him, he looks almost like a dragon! It has to be a cool name.”

The almost-dragon in question suddenly stopped and tried to scratch its head with a hind leg. Once it decided it couldn’t reach the desired spot it began vigorously rubbing its chin across the ground. Akko wondered if it hit it’s head too hard when it crashed against the window. 

“Wow, cool and majestic indeed,” Amanda said with a smug grin. 

The wyvern promptly resumed walking behind Diana and let out a sound huff in Amanda’s direction, by the way getting rid of some dust it apparently inhaled. Amanda looked at it and raised a brow. “That was rude,” she said in mock offense. 

Akko noticed that the corners of Diana’s lips turned upward ever so slightly. 

“How about Alioth?” Diana proposed.

“Alioth? Where did you get that from?” Amanda asked.

“It’s the name of a star from the Big Dipper. It’s the brightest star in the Ursa Major constellation, actually,” Diana explained.

Amanda looked at the shiny lizard that was currently eyeing her suspiciously. “Brightest star you say? You’re getting cheesy, Cavendish.” 

“It’s perfect!” Akko exclaimed, skipping next to Diana. 

Akko only heard a yelp followed by a hiss, when she lost her footing and tripped over something. She’d probably have fallen flat on her face if not for Diana’s quick reaction, holding her steady her by the arm. The remaining witches momentarily stopped walking.

“Whoa- Sorry, Diana!” Akko exhaled once she regained control over her limbs. 

“Akko, be careful,” Diana said, still holding her arm.

 _There’s that look again…_ Akko thought, and she felt as if she might melt from those brilliant blue eyes alone. 

Amanda cleared her throat. “I think you should apologize to someone else, Akko.” Having Akko’s attention, she pointed at the reptile behind them. 

Akko gulped when she saw its red eyes fixed on hers, form frozen but for the long tail slowly swaying from side to side, dragging across the gravel. 

“W-why are you looking at me like that?” Akko stuttered.

“You stepped on his tail,” Lotte clarified quietly.

 _Oh, so that’s why I tripped,_ Akko thought. “Uhh, sorry?” she said, but the wyvern took a step forward and Akko let out a high-pitched squeak. “H-hey, Alioth, uhh, good boy?” 

_Is that smoke coming out of his nostrils?!_

Akko found herself dragged back a few steps, Diana stepping between her and the fuming wyvern. 

“Alioth,” Diana said calmly, but firmly, and that was all it took for the reptile to avert its gaze and seemingly deflate somewhat. 

Akko exhaled in relief. “Huh, for a moment I could swear he was about to breathe fire.” She let out a nervous laugh. 

“Can wyverns do that?” Lotte wondered. 

Diana pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “It would seem his kind can. This complicates matters a bit, we’ll have to be careful not to let him set anything on fire. Does everyone know the basic water summoning spell?” 

The witches nodded, all except for one. 

“Akko?” Diana turned to face her and Akko scratched the back of her head.

“I mean, I got it once, but…” 

“Yes Akko, you summoned water literally once,” Sucy said with a pained expression, “and you flooded our room.”

Akko pouted. “Okay so it’s not perfect yet, so what? I can learn it in no time if I put my mind to it!” 

“But does Akko _really_ need the spell anyway?” Amanda turned towards Diana and grinned at the blonde. "I'm sure there'd be someone around to save her in case anything happened"

“Diana would probably put out any fire in the vicinity before Akko even managed to grab her wand,” Sucy said. 

“Right, and if I think about it, until now Diana’s always been there to rescue Akko,” Amanda mused, mimicking Diana's gesture of putting her hand to her chin. “A rather fortunate series of miraculous coincidences, wouldn’t you say?” 

Lotte promptly whispered something to Barbara and they both giggled. 

Diana felt her eye twitch. “I will see to it that Akko properly learns the spell regardless. Now, we should keep-“ she stopped, wide-eyed, when she noticed Akko staring right at her. Diana swiftly looked away. “We should keep going,” she finished. 

________

 

“So you want Barbara, Sucy and me to go to the library?” Lotte asked.

“Yes, if that’s fine with you,” Diana said. “There is still a lot more we should learn about wyverns that I didn’t have the time to research yesterday.”

Lotte nodded. “Sure, it’s fine!” she said almost simultaneously to Barbara saying “Of course it’s fine,” which made them both grin. Sucy gave an unenthusiastic nod and resumed walking around, looking for mushrooms under the brick wall Amanda and her team were sitting on.

After arriving at their usual hang-out spot, they took a while to rest. They didn’t have any blankets with them this time, but that didn’t bother Akko in the slightest. She lay herself down on the grass at a safe distance from Alioth, who seemed to ignore her completely since the tail-stepping incident. Akko thought it was still better than being mistaken for prey or something. 

She listened to the voices of her friends making plans for the day, their conversations usually coming down to them asking Diana for instructions in whatever they were supposed to help with. 

Akko stretched her arms out as far as she could and closed her eyes, basking in the pleasantly warm sun. With the temperatures getting gradually colder every night, it felt especially nice; the morning air still had a refreshing quality to it. Compared to the unbearably hot and humid summer they experienced this year, Akko sitting in front of a fan, wishing she could take her entire skin off, it was heaven. She could hear the constant chatter of her friends, which morphed into a background noise Akko didn’t really focus on, some birds chirping, and the deep, steady breathing of the reptile napping next to her. She thought about how peaceful it was—

_________

 

“Wake up Akko! You’re going flying!” 

The shout right into Akko’s ear made her bolt up to her feet with a noise only Akko could make. Blinking a few times, she looked at Amanda in confusion. 

“Huh? I fell asleep?” 

Akko looked around. Diana was talking to the rest of the team a few steps away, with her broom in hand. “What do you mean flying?” 

Amanda handed Akko her broom in a forceful manner and threw an arm over her shoulder. “Listen closely,” she whispered, “I convinced the dense blonde to go scout the surroundings with you, told her it was a perfect opportunity for you to work on your flying. I was supposed to go too, but I’m gonna do lizard babysitting instead so you got some alone time. You better be grateful.” She slapped Akko on the back, propelling her forward. “And don’t mess it up!” she added a bit louder. “Hey, Cavendish! She’s up!”

Akko’s eyes were darting from Amanda to her broom, then to Diana and back. 

“Wait, when did you even get my broom?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, it's already been a month, but in my defense- I had summer vacation and did summer vacation things! I should be back to updating more frequently again. 
> 
> Thanks for reading~


	8. Chapter 8

Diana would never have thought that there would come a day where she would find the absence of noise unpleasant. She appreciated silence, really - it gave room for thought, allowed her to focus. She usually didn’t feel the need to engage in unnecessary small talk.

Yet there she was, flying through clear skies side by side with a certain clumsy witch, who didn’t make a sound for the past fifteen minutes. If there was a definition for uncomfortable quiet, that was it.

It wasn’t the first time they went flying together, just the two of them. Quite the contrary - since Akko had become better at controlling her broom and at managing to stay in the air for a while, they had started to fly together fairly frequently.

The reason was simple enough - it wasn’t always easy for everyone to meet up at the same time. With nine witches, there were weeks where their schedules simply didn’t overlap, as most had other things they enjoyed doing after class. On one such week, seeing Akko sulk during lunch, lamenting that even Sucy and Lotte had other things to do, Diana offered to go flying with her.

Akko practically dragged her out of the cafeteria that day, earning a few chuckles from their respective teammates.

Since then it had become a regular occurrence, one Diana reluctantly began looking forward to. Their lessons were full of failed take-offs, falls, and band-aids; Akko’s never-ending chatter filled the air, and they talked about the most insignificant things, about the day or what their friends were up to, the both of them sometimes forgetting about the original purpose of their meeting.

It was easy to get completely immersed in Akko’s storytelling. With her tendency to exaggerate, her broom occasionally moved with her while she motioned dramatically to emphasize a point. It was captivating.

Diana couldn’t think of a single thing that would take her mind off of her everyday duties quite as effectively.

No wonder the current silence made her feel like something was missing.

“Akko?” Diana began, Akko’s broom subtly jerking to the side as she lost focus.

“Yeah?”

“Is everything alright? You’ve been unusually quiet.”

“I have? I mean, I’m fine! All good here!” Akko said, adding a small laugh at the end. “There’s been a lot happening lately I guess.”

“I see. It’s true there’s a lot to think about since we found Alioth yesterday,” Diana agreed.

“Right!” Akko said at a startling volume. “That’s what I was thinking about!”

Diana raised a brow at the response. “So,” she started, “what’s on your mind?”

“O-on my mind? I- Uhh-“ Akko was looking everywhere except at Diana, which wouldn’t have been a bad thing in itself, considering they were supposed to scout the area for any clues on their wyvern’s origins. Diana doubted, however, that Akko would find anything interesting in the sky above.

“Oh, I was thinking!” Akko said, apparently getting her thoughts back on track. “Do you think Alioth will be okay while we’re here?”

“I believe so, we left him in good hands after all.”

Akko raised a brow. “Good hands? You mean Amanda?”

“It’s true she may be… reckless, but she assured me she would take this seriously. Besides, Alioth was asleep about as long as you were and didn’t wake up when we left, I’m hoping he’ll remain that way until we come back. We shouldn’t be gone for too long, either.”

“Okay, makes sense,” Akko agreed. “And, uhh, sorry for falling asleep when you were talking about important stuff,” she added sheepishly.

“No need to apologize, it’s good that you’ve gotten some more rest,” Diana said.

Akko pouted. “What about you, though?”

“Me?”

“How much sleep did you get last night?”

What an unexpected question. “Slightly less than usual,” Diana said.

“But how many hours?”

“Three or four?”

Akko stared at her wide-eyed. “And that’s slightly less than usual?! How much do you sleep on normal days?”

“Around five hours,” Diana stated. What brought these questions on all of a sudden?

“Dianaaa,” Akko groaned. “That’s not healthy! You should be sleeping way more!”

“I find it to be enough. You know I have many things I need to tend to during the day, it would be difficult for me to find any more time than that.”

Akko looked down and sunk in on herself. “I’m taking up a lot of your time, aren’t I?”

Diana didn’t like where this was going.

“You can tell me if you don’t have time for lessons or something, you know?” Akko said. “I’ll understand.”

Diana frowned. “Akko, don’t you dare think for even a second that I would exchange our time together for anything else,” she said with a bit more force than intended. It was ridiculous, though. What was Akko even thinking? “I would gladly sleep less if it meant spending more time with you,” she added.

Akko raised her chin. “You mean that?”

“Absolutely.”

“Could you repeat?”

“What?”

“That last thing you said, about our time together.” Akko bit the inside of her cheek to suppress a grin.

“That I would-“

Gears turning, heat rushed to Diana’s cheeks. “I will not!”

Akko burst out laughing. “Come on, you already said it once!”

“Yes, and I won’t say it again!”

“Please?”

Completely losing her cool, Diana turned her head to look away. “No!”

“Aww Diana, I didn’t know you liked to spend time with me so much!”

“It’s embarrassing when you say it out loud!”

Akko was giggling without abandon. “You said it first!”

Diana sighed. She should have realized it was a trap. One she fell right into. “You practically made me say it!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Akko sang, swaying from side to side, moving in sync with her broom. “You’re so cute when you’re like this.”

Diana didn’t respond, simply analyzing if she could have, possibly, hallucinated that last part.

It took a second for Akko to realize what she let slip. Her laughter ceased momentarily, her face and ears turning scarlet.

That in turn made Diana’s cheeks flare up in an equally dark shade of red. She shouldn’t be overanalyzing. Friends could tease each other like this, right? It didn’t have to mean anything. Akko would probably burst out giggling any second, saying she was just being silly.

But Akko remained silent, eyes glued to her broom.

No, Diana was misinterpreting this for sure. She shouldn’t get her hopes up. Hopes? What was she even thinking? They’ve just become friends a few months ago, she wouldn’t dare think of anything else.

“Hey, Diana?” Akko said, her serious tone snapping Diana out of her internal crisis.

“Yes?”

“Look,” she said, pointing towards the ground.

The blush drained from Diana’s face. “Isn’t that where we…”

“Yeah, I think it is.”

“We should land.”

________

Akko jumped from her broom and took a few steps deeper into what was once a vibrant, autumn-colored forest. Now all she could see was a sea of fallen leaves and bare trees, all depleted of color as if winter spontaneously arrived in the span of a single day. The air felt colder somehow, too.

“This is where we found Alioth, isn’t it?” Akko asked, her voice the only thing echoing through the otherwise silent woods.

“It is,” Diana said, her eyes wandering, taking in the scene. She put a hand on the bark of one of the trees towering over them, its branches interweaving with the neighboring ones, making it hard to tell where one began and the other ended.

Akko stopped when her eyes picked up on a couple of mushrooms that had been growing on a fallen log, now all shriveled up, and pretty dead looking if she was being honest. Sucy wouldn’t like this. Or maybe she would? Akko was considering taking some samples.

“Why is everything so, well, dead? And why only here?” Akko scratched her head. “It’s like everything just… dried out.”

Diana put a hand to her chin, as usual when she was analyzing something.

“I don’t think it’s just a matter of water.”

“It’s not?”

“This looks far too unnatural. I think the forest might be drained of magic.”

Akko picked up one of the fallen leaves, for it only to fall apart and turn into dust between her fingers.

“Weird. Why would it be, though?” she asked.

“I’m not sure…” Diana said, brows furrowed. “Akko, do you know about how dragons get stronger when they devour a direct source of magic?”

If Akko could count herself as a source of magic, then that would definitely be one thing she learned firsthand.

Who would have thought her experience in running for her life from things trying to eat her would become useful like this?

“Yeah,” she nodded. “So you think a dragon did it?”

“It’s not just dragons. Wyverns, gryphons, fairies - they all need magic to exist, so they absorb it in one way or another.”

“Wyverns... wait, you think Alioth might have done this?”

“I suppose it’s possible, but I doubt a wyvern as small as him would be able to affect an area this big.”

“Okay, so a big wyvern…” Akko took a sharp breath. “I know! Maybe it’s Alioth’s family? They could be looking for him!”

Diana smiled. “That’s what I was thinking too,” she said.

Akko couldn’t help but grin back.

“Hmm,” Akko scratched her head, “but if they were here, where are they now? And why didn’t they find us?”

“Regarding that, I might have an idea. We should probably discuss it with the others when we get back, though.”

“Oh, sure!” Akko nodded, then looked around. “So, what now? Do we go back?”

“There’s still one more thing I need to do,” Diana said in a serious tone.

Akko bobbed her head to the side. “What’s that?”

“I’ll revive the forest.”

“You’ll re-“ Akko’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “You’ll what?!”

Diana winced at Akko’s volume.

“I can’t leave it like this. If magic is what put it in such a state in the first place, magic should restore it.”

Akko’s eyes were darting from one tree to another, and she took a subconscious step in Diana’s direction. “You can’t be serious, this place is huge! You can’t even see where it ends from here!”

“I’ve already used the Plant Restoration Spell once, I know what it’s capable of. It should be enough.”

Akko frowned. “Diana, you’ve used it on one tree, even if it was a very big tree.”

“It was the Jennifer Memorial Tree.”

“Yeah, I remember, with the Pappiliodya and all.”

Akko immediately regretted saying it when she saw Diana flinch ever so slightly at the mention.

They both did some things they’d like to forget back then. It seemed like all that happened in another life, though. It was a time when they were on... different terms. Akko _definitely_ preferred how things were now.

“I can do this, Akko,” Diana said, her stare resolute. “I have to.”

Akko firmly stared back at first, but her expression soon softened; she knew that there was no changing Diana’s mind, and this felt important.

“I know… It’s just- You worry about me so much, let me worry about you too sometimes, okay? You haven’t slept much, are you sure you’ll be fine?”

Diana dropped her gaze and Akko suddenly noticed just how close they were standing.

“I’m sure,” Diana said, taking her wand in one hand. Akko’s eyes followed as she extended the other towards her.

“However, I- I could use some support,” she said without meeting Akko’s eyes.

Akko caught Diana’s hand in both of hers so abruptly that Diana took an instinctive step back, finding herself only inches apart from the other witch.

“Alright,” Akko said, sparks in her eyes. “Let’s do it together then!”

______

Diana began preparing the spell, adjusting her stance while keeping correct form. For it to work she would usually have to place some stones or other magic conductors around the target to aid the flow of magic, but considering the size of the drained area, she would have to manage without this time.

"Ready?" Diana asked, looking over her shoulder.

Akko gave an energetic nod. "Ready."

Putting both arms forward Diana closed her eyes, focusing on her wand and on the pair of hands pressed against her back.

She was sincerely hoping Akko couldn’t feel how her heart was pounding. Though in the event she did Diana could probably brush it off as a side effect of the spell. That seemed like a good explanation.

She took a deep breath and recited the incantation, maneuvering her wand in a practiced motion.

“Louperial ral!”

She could feel the magic extend to her wand, and from there reach out and flow through the air, traveling across the lifeless landscape until it found the source.

Once it did, it was like a zap of electricity. Akko's breath hitched slightly, and Diana tightened her grip on her wand.

Using herself to channel the infinite force that the branches of Yggdrasil provided was as difficult as Diana expected it to be, even with Akko taking some of the strain off her. Still, she held on, listening to the sound of the forest reacting to her magic, to the rustling of leaves slowly appearing on the branches, and the creaking of dried out wood coming back to life.

Her mind was feeling foggy, the spell beginning to wear her out. Akko pressed herself closer against her back; she could probably feel it too.

“Diana, I think that’s enough.”

She opened her eyes, her vision blurry. She could see a sea of vibrant green, the leaves above giving off a faint glow.

“Not yet,” she said, putting all her energy into finishing what she started.

Akko watched stunned as the leaves around them began to change color, the greens giving way to yellows and reds.

Right. It was autumn after all.

Once Diana could feel the forest fall into balance with its surroundings she let the spell fade out, her remaining strength leaving with it. Akko’s voice was the last thing she heard before her legs gave out and her vision turned black.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! 
> 
> Any thoughts _very_ much appreciated~


End file.
